Father's Day Photo Shoot

We finally set up the studio set Mike got me for Mother's Day. The kids weren't in a particularly cooperative mood, but we got a few good shots. Saya looked really cute in her fluffy tutu and she tolerated better than other kids. Aly wanted nothing to do with the camera and didn't let me take any in her cute tutu. Obviously, I have to learn more about lighting and different set up, but they turned out fine for the first time.

Sean's End of School Year Party

Snack time~ My Mom made the origami cranes on the table. Sean feasted on full on wheat and milk snacks! We are going 100% GFCF from this week.
We had a slide show looking back the fun year at Miss Nia's class.

Miss Nia and Sean with a hat! He was so proud!

Sean had completed his first year at his preschool last Tuesday. Sean was the only one with Mommy, Daddy and Grandma attending the party and he seemed pleased. Looking back, he is a new boy from when he started last October. We are very thankful for his teachers for their persistence and effort for guiding Sean to be a well-functioning bright preschooler! Unfortunately, Miss Nia will not be coming back next year for a very good reason (she is expecting a baby girl in Sept) and we will miss her a lot.

For the recording purpose --

Sean liked to play with Rhea, a cute little blonde.

Sean used to say Noah is like Hiroto (his Japanese friend) and Alyson is like Leslie (his Chinese classmate).

Sean liked to help around the class, he liked being "one-minute-warning helper", "weather helper" and "line leader".

A Surprise!

On Monday when I just got home picking Noah up from his class, I noticed a cab pull into my driveway. I thought the driver is just u-turning, but it stopped and guess who came out? It was my Mom! She was supposed to be on the plane back to Japan and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My Mom's flight from Salt Lake City got delayed and she missed her flight to Osaka. Better yet, the flight on the next day and the day after were fully booked, so she stayed with us for two extra nights. I was pretty happy about this situation, but I am sure my Dad who's home alone in Japan wasn't too happy!

We went to have Dim Sum on Tuesday and also went to see Sean at his school. They had a graduation and end of the year party at his class. She was impressed with how good Sean was at school. I was glad that she was able to see his angel side for a change!

Thanks again for coming, Grandma!! It was a big bonus to have you for extra 2 and half days!

Graduation Party at Amy's

Their spicy rice noodle soup was out of this world!! Yumm!!
The food kept coming!! Even after I finished eating what's in the picture, they served us more food. So nice!

Beautiful girls - Aly with Amy

Mr. Teung, Amy and Chio giving speech to the crowd.

Amy with Saya and Aly. Saya kept climbing up the stairs.

A very sweet family, indeed!

Today was Amy's graduation day. Amy and her family invited all of us to their home to celebrate Amy's achievement. We have a very high opinion of Amy and today we saw why she is the way she is. Her entire family, including her parents, brothers, a sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts etc... are SO NICE!! They are very friendly and kind, treating us like one of their own. They offered to watch the kids so that we could eat, they kept bringing us food and more food, they sat next to us to chat with us, I was humbled!

The food was SO GOOD!! They had an outdoor kitchen and they were serving hot noodles with various toppings. My favorite was prawns with chili wasabi sauce. Most of the dishes were spicy and that's the way we like it. I am going to request Chio to cook us more of those when she comes back on Tuesday. Being at their house reminded me of being back home with my extended family. They were all Mien Chinese and Mike was the only white guy in there. Mike was hanging out in the basement with a young crowd watching basketball and they offered him a $1.50 a piece cigarette from China. Mike said it was really smooth and see why it's expensive.

We had a really good time and thank you so much for having us there, Amy!!

On the other note, my Mom called from Salt Lake City and she said she enjoyed Yellowstone very much. She accidentally deleted all the photos she took and she was bummed about that. She is glad though that she was able to see all the beautiful sites.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

Noah stuffing himself a whole piece of cake.
Sean liked the cake, too!

Aly licked the frosting first and ate it like a munchkin. Saya ate it really fast.

Daddy had a really good birthday!

Mike is an amazing person who has ears to listen (although he can't hear me very well sometimes due to our noise makers), strong hands ready to help, a sharp brain to solve problems quickly and rationally, a kind heart of a superhero.

Happy Birthday to you, Mike! You are truly a rare gem!

Grandma's Visit from Japan

Grandma with Saya, moments after she arrived.
Grandma playing with Sean.

Grandma and Aly playing on her air mattress.

We played in the playroom until her taxi came to take her to the airport.

This was a first for me. My Mom came and visited from Japan, but she was here for only two and half days. I am glad she was able to come and see us, but it was such a tease. I wish we were able to spend more time together, but it is better than no time together.

The kids had a lot of fun with grandma. I felt bad that Sean was being rude to her, but she understands his condition. He takes longer time now to warm up to people. I know though that he likes to play with her a lot and my Mom sure knows how to make him laugh! Aly was a little shy at first but quickly warmed up to her. Saya was asking to be picked up by grandma by the second day. Noah was wandering around a lot as usual, but he sure liked to play catch me game with her. She brought so many little presents for the kids as usual and her suitcase was half empty after she took out the load.

Now she is on her final day in Yellowstone. I hope the weather held up and she was able to see all the beautiful faces Grand Teton and Yellowstone posses. I used to go up there with my best friend often since I lived in eastern Idaho for four years. Lake Jenny is my favorite lake of all places. We will take the kids up there one of these years.

Thanks for coming, Grandma! We will be looking forward to seeing you again in December!

Good Weekend

Aly playing with the play doughs and Saya finger painting!
Sean showing off his martial arts skills, now a proud owner of the orange-striped belt!

We had a fairly good weekend thanks to the sunshine on Saturday and fun playdate with Andy and his little twin brothers Charlie and Finn on Sunday.

On Saturday, I took Sean to the Spiritridge park on foot while the rest of the babies are napping. It took forever to get there since Sean stops and asks questions about anything and everything that interests him, but it was a fun walk. Everyone seemed to be in a cheerly mood at the park and we met some nice neighbors there. I met a Japanese American family who lives fairly close to my house and we agreed that a playdate in Japanese would be a good thing to have in the near future.
Oh, and one important news which Sean would be mad at me if I don't mention. Sean received an orange stripe on his Tae-Kwon Do belt because he memorized the pledge. He was very proud of himself and was showing it off when he got home.

Mike and Neal went to the Sounder's game in the evening, so we had to hurry and get the evening routine on track. They sat in a box seat with free food, so they had a really good time. I wish I could have gone, but our nanny had plans.

On Sunday, the Mereckises invited us to their house for a playdate. Our houses are fairly close along the W. Samammish Parkway. I was very impressed with how organized everything was even though they have three little boys! How do you keep it so well organized, Liz? I think I need some tips and pointers from you. Their playroom was just like the ones I see on Pottery Barn catalogs and the kids had a really good time playing with all the fun toys they have. Thanks for having us and it was really nice meeting your whole family!

Now, we are gearing up for my Mom's visit tomorrow through Thursday. She will be stopping by on her way to Yellowstone National Park. As our nanny Chio is coming tomorrow and Wednesday, it will be interesting to see if Alyson would call both my Mom and Chio "grandma" or if she would create a new nickname for one of them. We'll see!

10th Year Anniversary

A few minutes after Sean was born, Mike looking exhausted but completely happy with his life.
Owning a first home together - Mike inspecting the construction site of soon to be our 1st home in Tracy, California. Didn't expect that we'll be selling and packing up north in short 16 months of ownership.

The wedding day in Boise, Idaho. Sunny and a little breezy in upper 70s. A perfect day for a garden wedding!

A trip to New Zealand - with a Maori dancer after a dinner show. Mike went up the stage and danced a warrior dance with the Maoris during the show.

Somewhere near Christchurch, NZ - we drove around New Zealand for 9 days, stopped at anywhere we wanted to stop, smelling pretty flowers off the road.

Living in Sydney, Australia - this was taken on the first morning after arriving there, in front of our hotel. Woke up, went downstairs and noticed that the Opera House was right across the bay.

June 3, was our 10th year anniversary. We packed a lot of awesome experiences in the past 10 years, living across the ocean in downunder, trips to beautiful places, meeting interesting people from around the world and of course welcoming four amazing kids into our lives. We were always on the go, looking for new places to explore, new food to eat, anything to stimulate our senses. We had to change the pace, of course, to accommodate four wiggly tots. We hope though that some day we can set out for more adventures and share wonderful experiences together as a family.

It is also the 10th year anniversary for my grandmother Yone's passing. She passed away on May 8, 2000. She made my childhood wholesome. As a city girl, I really enjoyed visiting grandma in the country because I could run to the rice patty field to catch grasshoppers, follow the little paths by the creek just to see where it leads to, and enjoy the celebrity treatment from my little cousins who thought that I was the coolest girl in the world. I spent my entire summer at grandma's when I was seven. I can still remember walking down the steep slope between the rice fields to get to the general store called "Yoshida's" with grandma. My grandma would say "let's go get a cream, Kimi (she called ice creams, just cream)" and we happily walked side by side. When I took Mike to meet her in the winter before she died, she sat up as nicely as she could and bowed to Mike and asked him to take a good care of me. I wish I could talk to you, obachan. Thank you for wonderful memories!

Remembering Last Summer Part I